Computer network system and method for process safety management (PSM) including facilitator display and multiple participant workstations

ABSTRACT

A computer network for gathering information and reaching consensus in a multi-user collaborative environment for Process Safety Management (PSM). Comments and ideas are gathered simultaneously from team members in a meeting, using the network. Apparatus is provided for storing these inputs and retrieving them from a database, and for printing them in predefined formats. The system provides for team members to submit their ideas anonymously in a meeting so that people uncomfortable with speaking in front of a group can freely share their ideas. The system automatically records input so ideas are not lost or misrecorded. The input is converted from the first database into a format for word processing to produce the required documents, into a format for a project management system to schedule the work to complete PSM documentation, and into a format to produce flow changes to the process being analyzed.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 08/274,059, filedJul. 12, 1994, now abandoned.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS

These inventions relate to apparatus and methods for process safetyassessments for proactive identification, evaluation, and elimination ormitigation of potential hazards in processes using toxic, flammable orexplosive chemicals.

BACKGROUND

This section provides an introduction for those who are not skilled inthe art and incorporates other citations by reference. It is not anadmission regarding prior art.

In the late 1980's several application programs were developed to allowgroups of people to work together by sharing information. Theseapplications are referred to as GroupWare. GroupWare products run on amainframe computer or on a network so that users can communicate in realtime. Most GroupWare products provide one or more of the followingfunctions:

shared calendaring--view another's electronic calendar and possiblyschedule meetings on anothers calendar;

electronic mail--e.g. send messages to another's electronic mailbox evenwhen the other person is not signed on;

shared word processing--e.g. allow multiple users to read and edit thesame documents possibly simultaneously;

shared document control--e.g. automatically keep track of who, when andwhat changes are made to a document and allow previous versions to becompared to a current version;

shared data base management--e.g. allow multiple users to read and evenwrite to the same data base; and

group decision support--e.g. allow a group of users to communicateanonymously about some question and automatically tally votes to reachconsensus.

For example, LotusNotes® (from Lotus, Inc.) provides shared calendaring,word processing of shared files, and electronic mail in a computernetwork; Group System V™ (from Ventana Corporation of MD) and TeamKit®(from IBM Corporation) offer anonymous email and a good email composingeditor, and support group decision making by automatically tabulatinganonymous voting.

Japanese patent JP 04-293157 describes a GroupWare application.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed theprocess safety management (PSM) standard (1910.119). The objective ofPSM is to prevent the undesired release of hazardous chemicalsespecially into locations which could expose employees and others toserious hazards. PSM is the proactive identification, evaluation, andmitigation or elimination of chemical hazards that could occur as aresult of failures in design, procedures, or equipment of a process.Effective PSM requires a systematic approach to analyzing the entireprocess including: process design, process technology, operational andmaintenance activities and procedures, non-routine activities andprocedures, emergency preparedness plans and procedures, trainingprograms and other elements which impact the process.

PSM targets highly hazardous chemicals that posses toxic, reactive,flammable or explosive properties which could potentially lead to acatastrophic incident. These substances are listed in paragraph A.1 ofthe PSM standard. The PSM standard requires an organization to develop athorough, orderly, systematic approach for identifying, evaluating, andcontrolling processes involving these highly hazardous chemicalsincluding the following specific requirements.

1. Set priorities and conduct analysis according to required schedules.

2. Use an appropriate methodology to determine and evaluate processhazards.

3. Address process hazards, previous incidents with catastrophicpotential, engineering and administrative controls applicable to thefactors, consequences of failure of controls, facility siting, humanfactors and a qualitative evaluation of possible safety and healtheffects of failure of controls on employees.

4. Perform process hazard assessment (PHA) by a team with expertise inengineering and process operations, the process being evaluated, and thePHA methodology used.

5. Establish a system to promptly address findings and recommendations,assure recommendations are documented and resolved, develop a writtenschedule for completing actions, communicate actions to operating,maintenance and other employees, and to perform and document the actionstaken.

6. Update and reevaluate PHAs at least every five years.

7. Retain PHAs and updates for the life of the process.

PSM is a difficult and time-consuming process for an organization toimplement. The typical approach is to assign individuals to ensure thatthe requirements of each section of the PSM standard are met, and teamsof people to perform the PHA. The individuals become familiar with thestandard, organize the work, structure the teams and assure education ofthe teams. The teams must be trained to perform the analysis. The teamsneed access and understanding of the operating procedures, emergencyplans, chemical hazards and precautions, process chemistry, safe upperand lower limits of process variables, equipment safety systems, etc.All these documents must be controlled to assure that all theparticipants are working with the same version of the documentation.Members of the teams create parts of the documents which must bereviewed, commented on, revised and reviewed again until consensus isreached. OSHA investigators can come in at any time to ensure that theorganization is in compliance with the PSM standard.

The above citations are hereby incorporated by reference.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to reduce the time from the beginningof PSM implementation until the PHA is complete and documented.

It is also an object to improve communication between members of theteams.

It is also an object to reduce the risk of errors being generated in thePHA and documentation to reduce the risk of errors being included in thefinal documentation.

Another object of this invention is to encourage participation by teammembers in analysis meetings to reduce the risk that importantinformation will not be shared.

Finally, it is an object of the invention to reduce the time required(man hours) to perform PHA for a process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The inventions of applicants include identification of problems inherentin manual methods of performing PHA and developing solutions to theseproblems which facilitate fast, accurate analysis of a processes.

In manual methods for participating in working team meetings,participation is hampered by the requirement of sequential communicationand fear of making embarrassing mistakes in a group setting. Decisionmaking is hampered by personal accountability for publicly takenpositions. GroupWare is used to overcome these problems by providingconcurrent entry of information by multiple participants, and anonymousentry of information, and decision making by anonymous voting.

The invention comprises a computer network for gathering information ina multi-user collaborative environment in order to conduct PSM. Theinformation includes input such as comments and ideas from team membersparticipating in a session. Apparatus is provided for storing andretrieving these inputs from a data base as well as printing them inpredetermined formats. The system provides for team members to submittheir ideas anonymously in a meeting so that people uncomfortable withspeaking in front of a group can share their ideas. The system providesautomatic recording of input so ideas are not lost or mis-recorded andideas are simultaneously entered saving valuable group time. Apparatusfor automatic voting and tallying of votes is provided to allowconsensus to be reached quickly.

Preferably apparatus is also provided to convert data from the inputdata base to a format for a word processing system to produce therequired documents, a project management system to schedule the work(e.g. produce PERT charts), and a flow-charting system to produceprocess flow-charts.

In an initial work session a facilitator uses the system to prompt teammembers to simultaneously enter their ideas into the computer networkregarding scope of work, resource management, prioritization ofprocesses with highly hazardous chemicals, and a work plan. Then thefacilitator prompts the members to reach consensus on these ideas andthe facilitator transfers the ideas into a data base and uses a wordprocessor to prepare a document from the ideas based on the groupconsensus.

In later work sessions for each process using the system in a similarmanner, operating procedures, process flows and hazardous chemicals usedin the process are input, stored and documented. The system is used toperform the PHA and create all the documents required for PSM. Finallythe system is used to manage all the documents and to update andreevaluate the PHA every five years.

Other features and advantages of these inventions will become apparentfrom the following detailed description of presently preferredembodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a specific embodiment of theworkstation network apparatus of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the layout of the system andapplications available on the file server.

FIG. 3 illustrates the education exercise of the initial strategysession of the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates the organizational structure exercise of the initialstrategy session of the invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates the work planning exercise of the initial strategysession of the invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates the session of the invention for documenting theoverall PSM Operating Procedures that address each section of thestandard.

FIG. 7 illustrates the session of the invention for documentingoperating procedures for a process.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS INCLUDING THE BEST MODE FOR CARRYINGOUT THE INVENTIONS

FIG. 1 is a schematic of the apparatus of the system for process safetymanagement. Portable facilitator workstation 100 includes apparatus 112for data input such as a mouse 116 or keyboard 114, a display such as anactive matrix color LCD display 118, at least one central processingunit (CPU) 108, and hardware to direct the CPU to perform the functionsof the process of the invention such as random access memory (RAM) 110communicating with the CPU, which can be configured as apparatus tocontrol the CPU and to control other functions of the workstation. Thekeyboard, display, CPU, and RAM are interconnected for example by atleast one bus.

A multitude of portable member workstations 104 include apparatus fordata input such as a mouse, pen, and/or a keyboard, a display such as aCRT or preferably an active matrix color LCD display, at least onecentral processing unit (CPU), and hardware to control the CPU such asread only memory ROM or preferably random access memory (RAM) whichcommunicates to control the CPU and which can be configured as apparatusto control the CPU and other functions of the workstation. The keyboard,display, CPU, and RAM communicate for example by being interconnected byat least one bus.

A device for producing output such as a printer, floppy disk, orconnection to an external database must be provided to permanently savethe results of the session. Preferably paper output is produced byproviding a plotter for flow charts and a text printer for text. Morepreferably a laser printer 128 produces both text and diagrams on paperor other sheet material. Computer network 106 connects facilitatorworkstation 100, printer 128, and all member workstations 104 together.The network can be electrical, optical, and/or by broadcast.

Apparatus 120 to display the information to the entire group (thefacilitator and all the participants) is preferred. Screen 122 issufficiently large and positioned to provide viability of severalthousand characters of text displayed on the screen by all the membersin the meeting (i.e. from each of the member workstations). Projector124 is connected to the facilitator workstation or otherwise to thenetwork, and positioned with respect to the screen to project an imagewhich can preferably be seen from the workstations 104. Preferably theimage is the same image as on the facilitator display.

Preferably, portable network server computer 102 is provided to controlthe network and store programs and data required in the session. Theserver may also include a keyboard for data entry (i.e. input) and anactive matrix color LCD display. The server includes at least one CPU,and RAM 130 (having blocks of memory 132, 134, 136, 138, 140, 142, 144,146, 148, 150, and 152). The keyboard, display, and hardware to controlthe CPU, such as RAM 130, communicate for example through at least onebus. The RAM can be configured as apparatus to control the CPU and otherfunctions of the workstation, including: RAM 132 configured to controlthe functions of the server; and RAM 134 configured to control the flowof information between the facilitator workstation, the laser printer,and the member workstations over the network. Although control programsdescribed herein can be implemented purely in permanent hardware such asROM or even discrete components, configuring RAM is much preferred sinceprogramming RAM is much simpler than designing and producing hardware.

Initial Strategy Session

This initial facilitated work sessions provide education to all teammembers regarding the Process Safety Management Standard and itsrequirements. Some basic decisions are made regarding scope of the work,resource requirements, and prioritization of processes with highlyhazardous chemicals. Also, a work plan is developed.

Referring to FIG. 2, the customer group gathers in a joint meeting toprovide input in response to questions provided by a facilitator, shownas a PC 202. The PC server 205, operating system 206 and applications207 are also shown. The session can also include a projector 204 andscreen 203 for viewing and a printer 208 for hard-copy output. Eachcustomer participates in the meeting via a PC 201 and the questions andanswers may be selectively displayed on the screen or on each PC.

The Education Exercise in the Initial Strategy Session develops a PSMEducation Document. In FIG. 3, the session starts with a series ofquestions loaded into TeamFocus® in the Group Outliner tool. Thequestions are designed to give the participants a common understandingof the PSM standard and its elements. They also guide the participantsthrough the basic decisions that must be made to get started, such asscope, timing, and resource commitment. Questions are sent out to thegroup one at a time. Each member of the group provides an answer. TheGroup Outliner tool in TeamFocus® allows each participant to view theother participant's answers. When everyone has answered the question,the answers are reviewed and consolidated into a group answer. Allparticipants must concur with the group answer. If the group cannotanswer the question, a predefined answer can be imported and modified asneeded. The facilitator can provide interpretation and instruction asneeded, since PSM may be unfamiliar to some of the participants. Thiscontinues until all the questions have been answered. The TeamFocus®session output is copied to diskette and loaded into a word processor.The session output can either be formatted in the word processor tool orin a specialized program. In either case, a document is created andprinted out for the participants. The document is also stored in anotherGroupWare tool called LotusNotes® where it can be accessed by others inthe organization. The PSM Education document is reviewed with allappropriate personnel in the organization so that a common understandingand awareness of PSM is attained.

The organizational Structure Exercise in the Initial Strategy Sessionidentifies the appropriate organizational units for PSM and documentsthe roles and responsibilities of each. In FIG. 4, the session startswith a list of organizational units that others have put in place toachieve compliance with the Process Safety Management Standard. Thesemay include a management committee, a hazard review committee, processhazard review teams, etc. After some discussion, the participants decidewhich organizational units are required by their organization and theseare loaded into TeamFocus® in the Group Outliner tool. Theorganizational units are sent out to the group one at a time. Eachmember of the group suggests roles and responsibilities for thatorganizational unit. The Group Outliner tool in TeamFocus® allows eachparticipant to view the other participant's suggestions. When everyonehas responded, the suggestions are reviewed and consolidated into agroup definition of the roles and responsibilities for thatorganizational unit. All participants must concur with the groupdefinition. If the group cannot define the responsibilities, apredefined set of responsibilities can be imported and modified asneeded. The facilitator can provide interpretation and instruction asneeded, since PSM may be unfamiliar to some of the participants. Thiscontinues until all the organizational units have been addressed. TheTeamFocus session output is copied to diskette and loaded into a wordprocessor. The session output can either be formatted in the wordprocessor tool or in a specialized program. In either case, a documentis created and printed out for the participants. The document is alsostored in another GroupWare tool called LotusNotes® where it can beaccessed by others in the organization. The Organizational Structure androles and responsibilities show what the various teams must do and howthey will interact with respect to PSM activities.

The Planning Exercise in the Initial Strategy Session identifies all theactivities that must be accomplished in order to achieve compliance withthe Process Safety Management Standard. In FIG. 5, the session startswith a list of milestones that typically have to be met in order toachieve compliance with the Process Safety Management Standard. Thesemay include education, documentation, training, hazard reviewcompletion, etc. After some discussion, an approximate time-line isestablished for the various milestones and then the milestones areloaded into TeamFocus in the Group Outliner tool. The milestones aresent out to the group one at a time. Each member of the group suggestsactivities that must be accomplished to complete that milestone. TheGroup Outliner tool in TeamFocus® allows each participant to view theother participant's suggestions. When everyone has responded, thesuggestions are reviewed and consolidated into a group list ofactivities for that milestone. All participants must concur with thegroup list of activities. If the group cannot define the activities, apredefined set of activities can be imported and modified as needed. Thefacilitator can provide interpretation and instruction as needed, sincePSM may be unfamiliar to some of the participants. This continues untilall the milestones have been addressed. At this time, the participantsare divided into subgroups and each subgroup is assigned one or moremilestones to work on. Each subgroup is sent the list of activities fortheir respective milestones using TeamFocus® Group Outliner tool. Thesubgroup identifies an owner, effort estimate, target date, and statusfor each activity. The responses are reviewed with the entire group forconcurrence. The TeamFocus® session output is copied to diskette andloaded into a project management tool for analysis and tracking. Thesession output can either be formatted in the project management tool orin a specialized program. In either case, a master work plan is createdand printed out for the participants. The work plan document is alsostored in another GroupWare tool called LotusNotes® where it can beaccessed by others in the organization. The Master Work Plan is reviewedwith Management and used to track progress toward compliance with theProcess Safety Management Standard.

PSM Operating Procedure Session

The PSM Operating Procedure Session develops a manual indicating how theorganization is in compliance with each section of the Process SafetyManagement Standard. In FIG. 6, the session starts with a list of topicsthat are needed in the manual or operating procedure. These may includean Introduction, Definitions, and Requirements by Element.

After some discussion, the participants decide which topics are requiredby their organization and these are loaded into TeamFocus® in the GroupOutliner or Group Writer tool. The topics are sent out to the group oneat a time. Each member of the group suggests verbiage for that topic.The Group Outliner and Group Writer tools in TeamFocus® allow eachparticipant to view the other participant's suggestions. When everyonehas responded, the suggestions are reviewed and consolidated into agroup response for that topic. All participants must concur with thegroup response. If the group cannot develop a response for the topic, apredefined response can be imported and modified as needed. Thefacilitator can provide interpretation and instruction as needed, sincePSM may be unfamiliar to some of the participants. This continues untilall the topics have been addressed. The TeamFocus session output iscopied to diskette and loaded into a word processor. The session outputcan either be formatted in the word processor tool or in a specializedprogram. In either case, a document is created and printed out for theparticipants. The document is also stored in another GroupWare toolcalled LotusNotes® where it can be accessed by others in theorganization. The PSM Operating Procedure shows how the organizationmeets the requirements of the Process Safety Management Standard.

Work Procedures Sessions

The Work Procedure Session develops a written work procedure for anoperation. In FIG. 7, the session starts with a definition of theoperation that is loaded into TeamFocus® in the Group Outliner or IdeaOrganization tool. The group is then asked to identify the first step inthis operation. Each member of the group suggests an activity. The GroupOutliner and Idea Organization tools in TeamFocus® allow eachparticipant to view the other participant's suggestions. When everyonehas responded, the suggestions are reviewed, duplicates removed, andsimilar activities merged together. The resulting activities are thensequenced. All participants must concur with the sequence established bythe group. The group is then asked to identify the next step in thisoperation. This continues until all the activities have been identifiedand sequenced. The group can then provide verbiage that describes howeach activity is accomplished, either working in subgroups or alltogether. When this is completed, the TeamFocus® session output iscopied to diskette and loaded into a word processor. The session outputcan either be formatted in the word processor tool or in a specializedprogram. In either case, a document is created and printed out for theparticipants. The document is also stored in another GroupWare toolcalled LotusNotes® where it can be accessed by others in theorganization. The Work Procedure documents how the organization performsan operation. The Work Procedures can be used for training and forauditing.

Bridge Programs

The TeamFocus sessions produce data files comprised of all the groups'responses to the facilitator's prompts for information. Upon executionof the export programs, these files are formatted into dBase III formatfor import into database tools, such as Microsoft Access. An export filefrom the database tool can be used by other bridge programs to constructimport files for various tools such as Microsoft Word. Reports anddocuments can be created from the TeamFocus tool, the database tool, orfrom the other software applications.

EXPORTGO

Table I shows a pseudocode embodiment of the invention for exportingdata from the groupware database to a general purpose database.

                  TABLE I                                                         ______________________________________                                        EXPORT - EXPORT UTILITY FROM GROUPWARE                                        TO DBASE III DATABASE                                                         Step                                                                          ______________________________________                                        1    PROMPT USER FOR PATH TO SESSION INFORMATION                                   FILE AND VERIFY THAT IT EXISTS                                           2    FILL A LIST BOX WITH EACH SESSION NAME AVAILABLE                         3    SET DEFAULT SOURCE AND DESTINATION PATHS AS                                   CURRENT DIRECTORY                                                        4    VERIFY USER SELECTIONS                                                   5    OPEN THE OUTPUT DATABASE FILE                                            6    READ THE FIRST RECORD FROM THE TREE STRUCTURE                                 FILE                                                                     7    AS LONG AS THERE ARE RECORDS IN THE INPUT FILE,                               DO THE FOLLOWING:                                                        8    CHECK RECORD FOR 3 ASTERISKS                                             9    IF 3 ASTERISKS, THEN DO THE FOLLOWING:                                   10   START NEW SECTION IN ARRAY AND BUMP                                           SECCTR BY 1                                                              11   READ THE NEXT 7 LINES AND ASSIGN TO SECNUM,                                   PNODENUM, NUMNODES                                                       12   PNODENAM, NODENAM, CHILDNUM, AND NODENUM                                 13   ELSE DO THIS                                                             14   KEEP CURRENT SECNUM, PNODENUM, NUMNODES AND                                   PNODENAM VALUES                                                          15   ASSIGN CURRENT RECORD TO NODENAM                                         16   READ THE NEXT 2 LINES AND ASSIGN TO CHILDNUM                                  AND NODENUM                                                              17   END IF                                                                   18   LOOP BACK TO STEP (7)                                                    19   DO FOR EACH SECCTR                                                       20   IF LABEL FILE EXISTS FOR THAT SECTION, OPEN AND                               READ A RECORD                                                            21   AS LONG AS THERE ARE RECORDS DO THE FOLLOWING:                           22   READ PAIRED LINES FOR EACH NODE IN THE CURRENT                                SECTION AND                                                              23   ASSIGN THE SECOND LINE TO THE COMFILE FIELD IN                                THE ARRAY                                                                24   LOOP TO STEP (21)                                                        25   LOOP TO STEP (19)                                                        26   NOW LOOP THROUGH THE ARRAY AND WRITE THE                                      RECORDS TO THE OUTPUT FILE                                               27   EXIT THE PROGRAM.--                                                      ______________________________________                                    

Referring to Table I showing a pseudocode implementation of the bridgeprogram EXPORTGO, this specialized program used by IBM bridges data froma TeamFocus Group Outliner (GO) session to a dBase III database file.The program begins with a prompt to the user to enter the path to theSESSION.DBF file created by TeamFocus. The program then verifies thatthe path entered is correct, and if so, reads the file to determine thenames of all available sessions. These are entered into a list boxcontrol on the main form. The default source and destination paths areset as the current directory. They can be changed by the user if needbe. The user can select as many sessions as desired to be exported. WhenOK is clicked, the EXPORTGO program validates all data fields entered bythe user. If all is valid, the Session Id for the first selected sessionis used to determine input file names. The file containing the GO treestructure is named "TREE₋₋ x.GO" where x is the Session Id. An entry of3 asterisks separates each outline section in the file. When a newsection is encountered, 7 lines are read and assigned to the variablessecnum, pnodenum, numnodes, pnodenam, nodenam, childnum, and nodenum. Ifthe line after these 7 is not 3 asterisks, then the record is anotherfrom the current section of the outline. Secnum, pnodenam, numnodes, andpnodenam stay the same as the current node. The current line is assignedto nodenam and 2 more lines are read into childnum and nodenum. Thislogic is repeated for the entire TREE₋₋ x.GO file until empty. Thenumber of sections read is counted and saved. Next, for i=1 to thenumber of sections read, an attempt ismade to open file L₋₋ x-i.GO,where x is the Session Id. If the file exists, then for the number ofnodes in the current section, the following is done: read two lines, thesecond being the comment file name, and assign to comfile. A loop isperformed. Then the records are written to the DBase III file.

BOOKMSTR Bridge

Table II shows a pseudocode embodiment of the invention for exportingdata from the groupware database to a word processor database.

                  TABLE II                                                        ______________________________________                                        APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT WORKSTATION                                           ______________________________________                                        * BOOKMASTER BRIDGE PROGRAM (FOR IBM'S WORD                                   PROCESSOR-BOOKMASTER)                                                         INITIALIZE PROGRAM VARIABLES                                                  VERIFY INPUT FILES EXIST                                                      BUILD TITLE PAGE                                                              WRITE DOCUMENT TITLE                                                          WRITE DOCUMENT REVISION LEVEL                                                 WRITE DATE/TIME                                                               WRITE DOCUMENT OWNER NAME AND ADDRESS                                         BUILD DOCUMENT BODY                                                           START NEW PAGE                                                                WRITE LEVEL 0 ENTRY                                                           FOR EACH COMMENT                                                              START NEW PARAGRAPH                                                           WRITE COMMENT                                                                 FOR EACH LEVEL 1 ENTRY                                                        START NEW PAGE                                                                WRITE ENTRY TITLE                                                             FOR EACH COMMENT                                                              START NEW PARAGRAPH                                                           WRITE COMMENT                                                                 FOR EACH LEVEL 2 ENTRY                                                        START NEW PARAGRAPH                                                           WRITE ENTRY TITLE                                                             FOR EACH COMMENT                                                              START NEW PARAGRAPH                                                           WRITE COMMENT                                                                 FORMAT DOCUMENT                                                               (EXECUTIVE WORD PROCESSOR PROGRAM)                                            PRINT DOCUMENT                                                                (ISSUE OPERATING SYSTEM PRINT COMMAND)                                        SAVE DOCUMENT                                                                 (ISSUE OPERATING SYSTEM COPY COMMAND)                                         EXIT--                                                                        ______________________________________                                    

Referring to Table II showing a pseudocode implementation of the bridgeprogram BOOKMSTR, this specialized program used by IBM bridges data froma TeamFocus Group Outliner (GO) session to IBM BookMaster, a wordprocessing product. The program begins with the initialization ofprogram variables and checks to make sure the TeamFocus files exist. TheTeamFocus files are of 3 types: one showing the overall structure,another type for each of the level entries, and another type for thecomments associated with each of the level entries. The program firstconstructs a title page for the document. It uses the TeamFocus sessionname as the document title, and prompts for the name of the documentowner. It also writes the current system date and time on the documenttitle page, as well as an initial revision level of 1.0. The standardBookMaster title tags, ":title.", ":docnum.", "date.", and ":author.",are used here. Next, the program constructs the body of the document bywriting out the TeamFocus files, starting with the level 0 entry and itsassociated comment file. The level 0 entry is given a ":h1" tag toindicate that it is the highest level heading in the document. Then itstarts a new page by issuing a ".pa" tag and writes out the first level1 entry and its associated comment file. The level 1 entry is given a":h2" tag to indicate that it is the second highest level heading in thedocument. Each individual comment in the comment file is treated as aseparate paragraph by preceding it with a ":p" tag. If there are level 2entries, it next writes out each level 2 entry and its associatedcomment file as before. Each level 2 entry is given a ":h3" tag toindicate that it is the third highest level heading in the document.Then it starts a new page by issuing a ".pa" tag and writes out the nextlevel 1 entry and its associated comment file. This continues until allof the level 1 entries have been written. At this point, the programcalls the BookMaster executable program to format the document using theabove arranged tags and text. The document is sent to the printer andthe file is copied to a designated output directory.

WORKBNCH Bridge

Other bridge programs can similarly be written for other softwareapplications such as flow-charting tools. The advantages offered by thebridge programs are in time saving and accuracy, as the data need not bemanually keyed into each tool.

ADVANTAGES

The combination of facilitated work sessions and GroupWare products,when applied to the Process Safety Management Standard, allows anorganization to optimize its resources to achieve compliance with thestandard in less time than it would otherwise have required. Thefacilitated work sessions allow the work teams to focus their effortsand make effective use of their time. They also promote teamwork andownership of process safety operating procedures. The GroupWare toolsallow the work team to quickly collect, organize, and document theirideas. At the end of the facilitated session, the team has immediatedocumentation of their work, which can be loaded into other softwarepackages for further analysis. The GroupWare tools also allow for theproper management of the documentation, making immediate accessthroughout the organization possible.

ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

All of the work described above can be performed by individuals orgroups working in traditional fashion, that is, without the aid of afacilitator and GroupWare tools. Work done by individuals must bereviewed by others in order to assure correctness. Numerous iterationsof drafts and reviews are generally required before all parties concurwith the decision or document. These iterations require time.Facilitated work sessions utilizing GroupWare tools improve the processby avoiding the iterations and involving the right people up front.

Work done by groups often lacks in quality because of unequalparticipation among team members. Typically a small percentage of thegroup dominate the discussions and exert undue influence over theresulting decision or document. Other members of the group may not buyinto the resulting decision or document as a result. The implications ofthis generally don't show up until later on when recommended actions arenot taken. Again, time is required to sort this out and correct theproblem. Rework is often required to document the decision or process sothat everyone is in agreement. Facilitated work sessions utilizingGroupWare tools improve the process by giving everyone an equal voiceand gaining consensus up front.

The process described in the example above is not the only alternativefor integrating GroupWare and the Process Safety Management Standard.Other GroupWare tools exist besides TeamFocus® and can be used in itsplace. Other Project Management tools exist besides Applied BusinessTechnology® and can be used in its place. Other Word Processing toolsexist besides IBM BookMaster and can be used in its place.

It will be appreciated that, although specific embodiments of theinvention have been described herein for purposes of illustration,various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention. Accordinly, the scope of protection of thisinvention is limited only be the following claims and their equivalents.

We claim:
 1. A computer network system implementing a project safetymanagement (PSM) standard, comprising:a facilitator workstation with afacilitator display and data input means for inputting data into thesystem; multiple participant workstations with participant displays anddata input means for inputting data anonymously into the system, andeach workstation having means to control the functions of theworkstation; team display means communicating with the facilitatorworkstation for displaying several thousand characters of textsimultaneously to a plurality of participants; network means forcommunication between the facilitator workstation and a plurality of theparticipant workstations; automatic means to control the communicationbetween the facilitator workstation and a plurality of the participantworkstations, and to control the functions of the facilitatorworkstation; collection means to automatically collect data from aplurality of participant workstations simultaneously input at aplurality of input means and to display the received data simultaneouslyto a plurality of participants, and to provide for revising the data toresolve any inconsistencies in the received data and to reach consensus;database means for storing and retrieving data; means for categorizingand organizing the data collected from the participants by thecollection means and transmitting the organized data to the databasemeans; word processing means for additional input and organization ofthe data transmitted to the data base into one or more documents; meansfor retrieving the data from the database and further organizing thedata for use in the word processing means; and programmed means forretrieving pre-loaded organizational unit descriptions that others haveused to achieve compliance with the PSM standard, and which are loadedwith such descriptions, and for displaying the organizational unitdescriptions using team display means and for storing a selection oforganizational units selected by input into member workstations forimplementing the PSM standard.
 2. The system of claim 1 furthercomprising, programmed means for storing for each selectedorganizational unit, roles and responsibilities selected by groupconsensus from data pre-loaded in the system before the group meeting orfrom input from member workstations during a group meeting.
 3. A methodfor using a computer network for organizational planning to implement aproject safety management (PSM) standard, comprising the stepsof:pre-loading a list of example organizational units and example rolesand responsibilities of each group in performing PSM into a computernetwork for display during a group meeting; selecting members of a groupfor participation in a facilitated, automated group meeting; in a groupmeeting inputting commands into a facilitator workstation to display thelist of organizations simultaneously to a plurality of members of thegroup; describing the organizations and their relations to the membersof the team; reaching consensus on the selection of organizations thatwill be involved in PSM; for each selected organization performing thesteps of:inputting commands into a facilitator workstation to display anorganization name and the role and responsibilities of the organizationsimultaneously to a plurality of members of the group; simultaneouslyinputting roles and responsibilities of the organization into multiplemember workstations by participants; simultaneously displaying aplurality of the roles and responsibilities, entered at otherworkstations at a plurality of member workstations; and reachingconsensus on the roles and responsibilities of the organization.
 4. Themethod of claim 3 further including the steps of:loading data includingthe list of organizations, pre-loaded roles and responsibilities andcomments into a word processor data base; editing the data depending onthe consensus reached to create a report; and printing copies of thereport for members of the group from the word processor data base anddistributing the copies.
 5. The method of claim 3 in which theorganizations include:a management committee, a hazard review board, anda process hazard review team.